Supreme Court issues contempt notices to Kerala Congress office-bearers over post targeting CJI
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The Supreme Court on Friday issued show-cause notices to office-bearers of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) over a social media post targeting the Chief Justice of India (CJI), Surya Kant.
A bench of Justices Arvind Kumar and Vipul M Pancholi was hearing a contempt petition concerning a post published on the official X account of the Kerala Congress unit on October 12.
The Congress tendered an unconditional apology before the court. However, the bench questioned its sincerity and asked why contempt proceedings should not be initiated under Article 139 of the Constitution.
The counsel appearing for the KPCC informed the court that an affidavit would be filed. The party also submitted that the post had been uploaded without the approval or consent of its office-bearers. It said a press release was issued the following day and the post was subsequently deleted.
The bench clarified that the notice was being issued to all KPCC office-bearers and not just an individual.
"We shall see whether the affidavit comes from your pen or from your heart," the court remarked.
The bench said it would consider further action after assessing the sincerity of the apology.
The KPCC had apologised to the CJI on October 27 in response to a legal notice issued by Meenesh Dubey, joint secretary of the Supreme Court Bar Association.
The controversy began when the Kerala Congress unit's official X account published a post during an INDIA bloc protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The post criticised the CJI over his reported position that he could not meet opposition leaders due to legal issues. It carried the remark: "Surya Kant, resign. We will find a replacement for you."
The post was later withdrawn by the Kerala Congress unit.